March 28, 2014

Flash! Friday: Prompt #2-16

Flash! Friday time! Quick refresher of the rules: 150-word story (+/- 10) on the photo below, which must include the dragon's bidding. This week's bidding: Space Travel. Ready?

Informed Consent

I didn’t know.

They promise you adventure, excitement — a life among the stars. Worlds waiting to be discovered, and freedom, from the pain of a mundane life, of mediocrity.

You’d think there would be years involved, of training. But you’d be wrong. You sign, and you leave, packaged like living cargo. To explore the unknown, and report back if you survive. Not to return — never to return.

They found me, and I signed, and their machines, they chose my fate.

We’re less expensive than robots, and easier to instruct. Expendable.

They sent me to this tunnel, and now, with nothing left to do, I walk to its bright light, finding trinkets to report, seeking their promises around invisible corners.

They promised me a galaxy, and sent me to the sky. But as you fly, the stars are just the dotted line.